California makes big play to land Tesla battery 'gigafactory'

PALO ALTO -- California made a major play on Thursday to land a Tesla Motors "gigafactory" by introducing legislation that would enable the state government to wield an array of incentives and regulatory changes to attract the massive battery plant.

Two state lawmakers introduced bipartisan legislation backed by Gov. Jerry Brown to clear away red tape and regulatory hurdles and to dangle financial incentives in front of Tesla. The bill, SB1309, is co-authored by state Sen. Ted Gaines, R-Roseville, and state Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento.

"I am confident we can get the gigafactory in California," Gaines said in a telephone interview with this newspaper. "We have the motivation in the Legislature. Let's get the approval done and let's get these 6,500 well-paying, middle-class jobs in the state."

Palo Alto-based Tesla, which has a large auto factory in Fremont, recently signaled that California could be in contention to land the $5 billion battery plant, which is also being pursued by Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada and Texas.

The bill declares the Legislature's intent to use financial incentives, changes to regulatory and environmental processes and other possible tools to expedite construction in California. Tax credits, investment credits and hiring credits are some of the tools the state would use.

"Whenever the state creates incentives for business, it should be for industries that not only bring good-paying, middle-class jobs but also use clean technology to help curb pollution and improve the health of Californians," Steinberg said in a prepared release. "We can hit both these targets of strengthening our economy and fighting climate change with the construction and operation of this manufacturing plant in California."

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The governor's office signaled its strong support of the bill.

"The proposed legislation is an extension of the administration's efforts to encourage businesses to expand in California and demonstrates that the state is serious about finding creative solutions to spur job creation," said Mike Rossi, senior adviser for jobs and business development in the governor's office.

Stephen Levy, director of the Palo Alto-based Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy, praised the effort to aggressively pursue the new plant.

"Cutting red tape, reducing fees, speeding up the review and regulatory process -- those are all good," he said.